After following the 2024 presidential campaign for months, it is hard not to call Donald Trump a fascist when John Kelly, his own chief of staff, says that the ex-president meets the definition of one. Even historian Robert Paxton can understand the rationality behind comparing him to Mussolini or Hitler. However, to analyze his behavior or speeches, one only needs to look half the globe away at Bangladesh, where the autocratic ex-PM Sheikh Hasina fled the country in the face of nationwide protests against her abusive government. Is it wise to vote for someone who speaks like an autocrat?
Time and time again, Donald Trump has used degrading and dehumanizing language towards citizens. We have all heard the phrase “Enemies from within” multiple times just in October. This would remind every Bangladeshi of countless times the former PM called citizens weird names—tagged them as some “Opposing force” to make her retaliation sound somewhat justified in the puppet press. What followed were the deaths of hundreds of university students who were peacefully protesting with zero political affiliation. Now, Bangladesh is ranked as the 34th economy with a tiny military, and the US, on the other hand, has the largest economy in the world with the most powerful military.
Do you really want someone who wants to use the US military against its citizens to have that kind of power? What if you needed to protest for your rights in the future? Would the ex-US president offer you a seat to discuss the issue?
Donald Trump promises to prosecute rivals and somehow, every day, he ends up with a new way to hate more and more people. Canceling, labeling, and just talking trash about everyone who disagrees is simply not presidential behavior! It is just another way to make new enemies to punish when he runs out of political rivals and journalists. It does not ever stop! The Bangladeshi autocrat did not stop at prosecuting opposing parties, she went on to create murder mysteries, and over the course of her regime killed hundreds of innocent people and made countless people disappear. The worst thing is, she even kept the press under her thumb. That is what unchecked power has always done over the course of humanity’s history and those examples are what Donald Trump admires.
Having unchecked power typically leads to lying, spreading disinformation and misinformation, and even pleading ignorance sometimes. That is what the Bangladeshi news media have broadcasted for more than a decade until recently. Donald Trump already has those traits—he lies without thinking, claims ignorance when faced with public information, and thinks there is life on Mars! What’s to say he would not try to control the media and force journalists to do his bidding? Yes, journalists and people in general have their own ideology and ethics but won’t those people become the “Enemies from within” if they oppose Donald Trump?
When the press and the media is under your control, all of these—dehumanization, political criminalization, and spreading disinformation and misinformation—becomes easier. The people almost always believe what they read on trustworthy news platforms. If these platforms become pawns protecting a sitting president, it is easier to convince people without any evidence whatsoever. Sheikh Hasina, in Bangladesh over the past few years, has prosecuted countless political rivals, fired on several peaceful protests, and got away with all that by simply claiming that these are enemies of the country who want to see her fail. She even blamed the US for her fall and thousands of people probably even believed her. All of this was possible because she had the media under her thumb.
Now, Donald Trump has already accused Haitian immigrants without a pinch of evidence. If he can control the media, would it not be easier to fuel hate towards these immigrants? Would it not take his mass deportation dream to the next level? Can the American people afford to have a media that is a puppet working for Donald Trump? Can they endure mass protests against an autocrat? What would it do to the greatest economy ever?
Donald Trump does not have effective answers to these questions. All he ever does is accuse people, turn them on each other, and spread hatred. He has warned you—the American people—that he can and wants to do everything that the autocrats are famous for. Believing that he would not go that far is just being naive at this point. If John Kelly believes that the ex-president wants to be a dictator, and not just on day one, the American people should believe that and think again before casting a vote for Donald Trump.
Throughout world history, this innate hunger for power has always proved to be destructive and we do not have a single example where a power hungry autocrat became a good leader. There is no point in thinking that the checks and balances of power will stay intact if Donald Trump becomes president. So, with just a couple of days to go, it is high time to rethink your choice for president.
